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Selected Aquatic Ecology, Surf Ace-Water Quality, and Ground-Water Studies in the Santee River Basin and Coastal Drainages, North and South Carolina, 1996

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Selected Aquatic Ecology, Surf Ace-Water Quality, and Ground-Water Studies in the Santee River Basin and Coastal Drainages, North and South Carolina, 1996 Selected Aquatic Ecology, Surf ace-Water Quality, and Ground-Water Studies in the Santee River Basin and Coastal Drainages, North and South Carolina, 1996 By Thomas A. Abrahamsen, W. Brian Hughes, Eric J. Reuber, and Terry L. Sicherman U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Open-File Report 97-115 National Water-Quality Assessment Program Columbia, South Carolina 1997 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR BRUCE BABBITT, Secretary U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Gordon P. Eaton, Director The use of firm, trade, and brand names in this report is for identification purposes only and does not constitute endorsement by the U.S. Government. For addtional information write to: Copies of this report can be purchased from: District Chief U.S. Geological Survey U.S. Geological Survey Branch of Information Services Stephenson Center-Suite 129 Box 25286 720 Gracern Road Denver, CO 80225-0268 Columbia, SC 29210-7651 FOREWORD The mission of the U.S. Geological Survey Describe how water quality is changing over (USGS) is to assess the quantity and quality of the time. earth resources of the Nation and to provide informa­ Improve understanding of the primary natural tion that will assist resource managers and policymak- and human factors that affect water-quality ers at Federal, State, and local levels in making sound conditions. decisions. Assessment of water-quality conditions and This information will help support the development trends is an important part of this overall mission. and evaluation of management, regulatory, and moni­ One of the greatest challenges faced by water- toring decisions by other Federal, State, and local resources scientists is acquiring reliable information agencies to protect, use, and enhance water resources. that will guide the use and protection of the Nation's The goals of the NAWQA Program are being water resources. That challenge is being addressed by achieved through ongoing and proposed investigations Federal, State, interstate, and local water-resource of 60 of the Nation's most important river basins and agencies and by many academic institutions. These aquifer systems, which are referred to as study units. organizations are collecting water-quality data for a These study units are distributed throughout the host of purposes that include: compliance with permits Nation and cover a diversity of hydrogeologic set­ and water-supply standards; development of remedia­ tings. More than two-thirds of the Nation's freshwater tion plans for a specific contamination problem; oper­ use occurs within the 60 study units and more than ational decisions on industrial, wastewater, or water- two-thirds of the people served by public water-supply supply facilities; and research on factors that affect systems live within their boundaries. water quality. An additional need for water-quality National synthesis of data analysis, based on information is to provide a basis on which regional aggregation of comparable information obtained from and national-level policy decisions can be based. Wise the study units, is a major component of the program. decisions must be based on sound information. As a This effort focuses on selected water-quality topics society we need to know whether certain types of using nationally consistent information. Comparative water-quality problems are isolated or ubiquitous, studies will explain differences and similarities in whether there are significant differences in conditions observed water-quality conditions among study areas among regions, whether the conditions are changing and will identify changes and trends and their causes. over time, and why these conditions change from The first topics addressed by the national synthesis are place to place and over time. The information can be pesticides, nutrients, volatile organic compounds, and used to help determine the efficacy of existing water- aquatic biology. Discussions on these and other water- quality policies and to help analysts determine the quality topics will be published in periodic summaries need for and likely consequences of new policies. of the quality of the Nation's ground and surface water To address these needs, the Congress appropri­ as the information becomes available. ated funds in 1986 for the USGS to begin a pilot pro­ This report is an element of the comprehensive gram in seven project areas to develop and refine the body of information developed as part of the NAWQA National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Pro­ Program. The program depends heavily on the advice, gram. In 1991, the USGS began full implementation cooperation, and information from many Federal, of the program. The NAWQA Program builds upon an State, interstate, Tribal, and local agencies and the existing base of water-quality studies of the USGS, as public. The assistance and suggestions of all are well as those of other Federal, State, and local greatly appreciated. agencies. The objectives of the NAWQA Program are to: Describe current water-quality conditions for a large part of the Nation's freshwater streams, rivers, and aquifers. Robert M. Hirsch Chief Hydrologist Foreword BLANK PAGE IV CONTENTS Foreword ......................................................................... iii Abstract................................................................................................................................................................ 1 Introduction.......................................................................................................................................................... 1 Purpose and Scope...................................................................................................................................... 1 Description of Study Area........................................................................................................................... 3 Acknowledgments..................................^ 6 Selected Data Sources.......................................................................................................................................... 6 Selected Study Descriptions: Aquatic Ecology.................................................................................................... 10 Selected Study Descriptions: Surface-Water Quality........................................................................................... 16 Selected Study Descriptions: Ground Water........................................................................................................ 19 Summary.............................................................................................................................................................. 21 References...................................................................................................^^ 22 Appendix 1 - Aquatic Ecology Bibliography....................................................................................................... 23 Appendix 2 - Surface-Water Quality Bibliography.............................................................................................. 31 Appendix 3 - Ground-Water Bibliography........................................................................................................... 41 FIGURES 1. Map showing physiographic provinces of the Santee River Basin and coastal drainage study area, North and South Carolina................................................................................................................... 2 2. Map showing ecoregions within the Santee River Basin and coastal drainages study area, North and South Carolina.............................................................................................................................. 4 TABLES 1. Selected environmental databases-Santee River Basin and coastal drainages study area, North and South Carolina.............................................................................................................................. 7 Contents CONVERSION FACTORS AND VERTICAL DATUM Multiply By To obtain foot (ft) 0.3048 meter foot per day (ft/d) 0.3048 meter per day square foot per day (f^/d) 0.0929 square meter per day cubic foot per second (ft3/s) 0.02832 cubic meter per second mile (mi) 1.609 kilometer square mile (mi2) 2.590 square kilometer gallon per min (gal/min) 3.785 liter per minute million gallons per day (Mgal/d) 3.785 million liters per day gallon (gal) 3.785 liter gallon per day per foot [(gal/d)/ft] 12.41 liter per day per meter parts per million (ppm) 1.0 milligrams per liter Sea level: In this report, "sea level" refers to the National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929~a geodetic datum derived from a general adjustment of the first-order level nets of the United States and Canada, formerly called Sea Level datum of 1929. VI Contents Selected Aquatic Ecology, Surface-Water Quality, and Ground-Water Studies in the Santee River Basin and Coastal Drainage, North and South Carolina, 1996 By Thomas A. Abrahamsen, W. Brian Hughes, Eric J. Reuber, and Terry L Sicherman Abstract State, and local agencies to meet their individual needs. The NAWQA program, however, emphasizes a A literature search of aquatic ecology, sur­ large-scale water-quality assessment. The understand­ face-water quality, and ground-water studies in or ing of regional and national water-quality conditions is expected to provide a framework for in-depth, small- near the Santee River Basin and coastal drainages scale water-quality studies. in North and South Carolina was conducted to The NAWQA program consists of 60 hydro- facilitate current
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